This assignment was a formulation mission for the Danish Support to Zimbabwe from 2013-2015.

The objective of the formulation was to provide recommendations and outline areas for a new phase of Danish support within the focus areas of:

1) Good Governance, Democracy, and Human Rights;

2) Rehabilitation of Infrastructure, and;

3) Private Sector Development within Agriculture.

The Good Governance Component included sub-components focusing on a) Strengthening democratic processes, structures and institutions in Zimbabwe; b) Access to Justice and Human Rights through an independent justice system free of political interference and corruption and through monitoring of human rights and provision of legal aid for victims of human rights abuse and c) Increased access to free and independent media. The governance component had a special focus on enhancing access to justice for women and reducing gender based violence.

The Infrastructure component was focused on a) Rehabilitation of critical nationally prioritized infrastructure; b) Improved policy development within prioritized areas such as economic management and governance, agriculture and infrastructure; c) Strengthened focus on the potential for renewable energy in Zimbabwe.

In term of Private Sector Development within agriculture, the component focused on a) Revitalisation of the agricultural sector through the provision of an accessible and competitive credit facility for actors in the value chain; b) Substantial capacity building for actors in the agricultural value chain to enable recipients to further boost commercial activities; and c) Undertake innovative interventions supporting activities, sectors or value chains that in particular possess competitive advantages and have potential for income generation and job creation.

Some of the activities done by the consultants included:

• Assessment of donor coordination and alignment to national priorities;
• Assessment of the strategic approach to provision of development assistance to Zimbabwe;
• Assessment of conflict sensitivity as well as a systematic risk analysis;
• Assessment of the needs in relevant sectors based on, i.a., consultations with stakeholders;
• Assessment of technical approach and progress made within the existing individual components and sub-components;
• Assessment of possible areas for expansion or potential new activities that could feasibly be supported by the new Danish development program in Zimbabwe;
• Assessment of scope for additional private sector development activities;
• Assessment of possibilities to include strengthened focus on: social safety nets; poverty reduction, and; green growth;
• Assessment of need for technical assistance.

The consultancy team provided Danida with a Programme Document that included:

• A thorough context analysis especially with regard to the political, economic and social developments in Zimbabwe;
• Alternative approaches to the most plausible scenarios of political, economic and social developments in Zimbabwe including a specific focus on risk;
• Possibilities for increased interaction with the private sector in Zimbabwe;
• An outline of a monitoring system with measurable indicators and targets;
• And a detailed draft Process Action Plan.

The services provided covered the thematic areas:

• Democracy, including parliaments, elections, media, and oversight mechanisms;
• Human right;
• Generation of income and employment especially for the yout;
• Anti-corruptio;
• Rule of law and justice systems strengthening, including access to justice, legal reform, and security sector reform.